
Pretty Stoned
2023

Representation Score
Good
2018
RDirector
Augustine Frizzell
Runtime
87 minutes
Average Rating
No ratings yetNew Showbiz Analysis
Never Goin' Back is a potent character study that succeeds by dismantling patriarchal storytelling structures. By prioritizing female friendship and autonomy, it allows its protagonists to drive the plot through their own actions and chaos. However, the film's impact is constrained by its demographic homogeneity. The focus on a specific, localized white experience prevents the narrative from exploring broader multi-layered or multicultural perspectives. Ultimately, the film is a specialized disruption of gendered clichés that lacks breadth in racial and identity-based representation.
Category Breakdown
The story focuses on the strong emotional and platonic bond between two female leads. It avoids explicit queer-coded subplots or non-straight relationships, staying within conventional social frameworks.
The film challenges traditional hierarchies by centering entirely on women's ability to drive the story. It bypasses the male gaze, allowing women to navigate chaos and instability without needing male protagonists or protectors.
The cast is relatively homogeneous, focusing on a white, female-centric demographic. This lack of the way different parts of someone's identity overlap limits the film's engagement with broader multicultural or systemic dynamics.
The narrative critiques traditional success and Western stability through characters living on the fringes. It embraces moral relativism and a rejection of standard capitalist milestones like stable employment.
Themes of mental instability and substance use are present but treated as lifestyle elements. These portrayals risk serving as narrative devices for aimlessness rather than nuanced depictions of lived disability.
Present on Screen
Limited or Absent
Official Synopsis
Angela and Jessie are best friends intent on taking a wild beach trip, but when their roommate loses all of their money in a drug scam, the girls -- blissfully stoned -- go to increasingly daring and absurd lengths to get it back.

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